Plans to relieve traffic moving ahead in Terrebonne, Lafourche

Monday

Jan 7, 2013 at 7:26 PM

There are plans to begin widening two of the most heavily traveled roads in Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes, possibly by the end of the year.

Katie UrbaszewskiStaff Writer

There are plans to begin widening two of the most heavily traveled roads in Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes, possibly by the end of the year.Tax dollars have been secured for the construction of extra lanes on Terrebonne’s Grand Caillou Road, which handled more than 19,000 vehicles a day in 2012, and North Canal Boulevard in Thibodaux, where more than 14,300 vehicles traveled daily, local government officials said.The South Central Planning & Development Commission traffic counts rate Grand Caillou as the second-most traveled road in Terrebonne Parish after Martin Luther King Boulevard. North Canal is the second-most traveled road in Lafourche Parish, after U.S. 90.U.S. 90 could someday see changes as well, if a coalition succeeds in turning it into an interstate by connecting it to Interstate 49. State Sen. Bret Allain, R-Franklin, recently formed the coalition, though he acknowledges those plans have been worked on for 20 years.The state Department of Transportation and Development plans on Grand Caillou having five lanes starting at Industrial Boulevard near Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center, which attracts much of the traffic. The five lanes will continue past Dixon Road, where Grand Caillou will then turn into a three-lane road until Thompson Road, Parish President Michel Claudet said. This project — which DOTD estimates will cost between $7.5 million and $10 million — is being funded by the state and federal governments.“It is going to be a major benefit to the east side of Houma,” Claudet said.The public bid process to find a contractor is supposed to begin late this year, Claudet said.“The project has been in the works for quite some time, and they’re finally bringing it to fruition. ... We’re looking forward to it proceeding,” he said. Plans to widen North Canal Boulevard have also been long-awaited.The $4.4-million project will expand North Canal to a four-lane road inside the city limits, eliminating the merge from four lanes to two near Belmont Drive and Walmart. The city will chip in about $800,000, with the state covering the rest, said Luci Sposito, Thibodaux grants and economic development director.“People in the left lane do not realize the lanes merge, and there are a lot of accidents there,” Sposito has said. “This should help that.”The two-mile project could kick off late this year or early next year, Thibodaux Mayor Tommy Eschete said.

Staff Writer Katie Urbaszewski can be reached at 448-7617 or katie.urbaszewski@dailycomet.com